Page 123 of Edge of Unbroken

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’ll call you back,” I just say and cut the call without another word.

Cat

Ronan doesn’t call me back. Of course he doesn’t. I betrayed him, so deeply. I can’t believe it’s come to this; I can’t believe I allowed Adam to ruin the most incredible, perfect thing I’ve ever had. Ronan probably hates me now.

I sit on the edge of my bed, my leg bouncing restlessly as I stare at the black screen of my phone, wishing, willing for it to light up with Ronan’s beautiful face, his green eyes. What have I done? And it does light up, only not with Ronan’s face, but with Vada’s.

She speaks before I do. “Zack, Summer, and I are outside. Open the door!” she tells me simply and hangs up.

My brow creases, but I get up and make my way downstairs. The moment I open the front door, Vada rushes into the house, followed by Summer and Zack, who shuts the door behind him and locks the deadbolt back into place.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“Shane called me and—”

She’s interrupted by an imposing knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Zack calls to whoever is outside.

My heart gives an appreciative little jolt when I hear Steve’s voice. “Steve. Open up, asshole,” he calls to Zack, who unlocks the door to grant Steve entrance. “Shane and Tori are about ten minutes out,” Steve tells Zack, then turns to me and pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

“What are you all doing here?” I ask.

Steve releases me from his hold.

“Shane called,” Vada says. “He said Ran called all frantic and said you were in trouble.”

“Ran rallied the damn troops,” Zack says.

The dam breaks, tears spilling from my eyes at the realization that Ronan didn’t call me back not because he hates me, but because he’s doing whatever he can to make sure I’m safe. Even from thousands of miles away, he’s still protecting me.

“Aww, Kitty Cat.” Vada gently leads me to the living room where I plop down on the couch, surrounded by my closest friends. It takes me forever to get control over my fitful sobs, and by the time I manage to compose myself, Shane and Tori have arrived, looking absolutely bewildered.

“Alright, so, care to fill us in on your little convo with my baby brother?” Steve asks Shane, whose blue eyes are full of urgency yet warmth.

“Uh, well, it was literally a fifteen-second call. He just said Cat was in trouble.” He turns his attention to me. “He said your ex is contacting you again. Ran was worried that your ex is maybe here… in New York?”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Vada says, but I nod.

I take a deep breath, then a second, and fill my friends in on what has occurred since Ronan left. I tell them about the warrant that’s out for Adam’s arrest, Adam’s frequent attempts to contact me, his threats, and my fear that he might want to hurt Ronan.

“I don’t fucking get it,” Shane says, his brow furrowed. “Is this fucker just a glutton for punishment? I thought Ran beat his ass pretty thoroughly.”

“Why don’t you just tell this douche to fuck all the way off?” Vada huffs, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “I mean, if he shows up here you’ll just call the damn cops. That would be awesome! They’re already looking for him. I say ignore the motherfucker and let him come,” she says with a shrug.

I shake my head, knowing full well that there’s no way out. I’m going to have to come clean to my friends. I’m going to have to lay myself bare just like I did to Ronan on the phone earlier.

“So, there’s… Can you guys… I just…” I fish for the right words to tell them about the pictures I sent Adam over the past few months, the ones he took of me when we were still together, the extortion and blackmailing, and what I did to comply with Adam’s demands.

They remain silent, waiting for me to speak.

I take yet another shaky breath, then begin to confess my deepest, darkest secrets.

And to my utter elation, delight—heck, jubilation—they don’t judge. None of them. Shane doesn’t get angry when I tell him about the money—and quickly note that I made sure to pay him back as soon as I could—and Steve doesn’t judge when I come clean about selling the hockey skates. Not even Vada makes so much as a snippy or inappropriate remark, gasping instead at all the right moments. I note expressions of anger, even disgust on the guys’ faces when I tell them about how Adam has taken photos of me without my consent, how he’s been extorting and threatening me.

“God, baby, you ever pull shit like that asshole and I’m going to flat out castrate you, then shove your balls down your throat,” Summer spits at Zack, who looks taken aback.

---